Welcome back and happy new year, digital darlings! As you dig out from under your email avalanche and reorient to 2025, we’re here to catch you up. While you were sipping eggnog and dodging family debates, Google and LinkedIn were busy shaking up the marketing landscape. From (several) PPC plot twists to LinkedIn’s B2B glow-up, here’s everything you need to know to kick off your year with insight and impact. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Broad Match Drama: Google’s Latest Plot Twist
While we were sleeping (and dreaming of sugarplums), Google Ads may have quietly unwrapped a “feature” that auto-switches your exact and phrase match keywords to broad match when switching to conversion-based bidding - no heads-up required! PPC gurus like Navah Hopkins are calling this a budget-busting surprise, while Google’s Ginny Marvin claims it’s an unintended hiccup under review. Here’s the tea: broad match can balloon irrelevant clicks and send your ROAS packing. So to kickoff the year, channel your inner detective, audit your campaigns obsessively, and don’t let a change in bid settings turn your PPC masterpiece into a hot mess.
Google’s Brand Report: A Dashboard Worth Celebrating
Unlike the Broad Match drama sneaking in over the holidays, Google Ads just dropped a holiday gift for brand advertisers: the Brand Report, a sleek dashboard that consolidates reach and frequency metrics across campaigns. No more piecing together data like a marketer on a post-holiday puzzle binge! This tool provides deduplicated insights by age, gender, and on-target demographics, letting you spot overlaps and overspending in real-time. While it’s limited to 92 days of data and excludes Search and Performance Max campaigns (for now), it’s a game-changer for streamlining your 2025 brand strategy. Darlings, efficiency has entered the chat—time to make every impression count!
Google’s New Spam Policy: Because PPC and SEO Are Officially BFFs
Marketers, Google just served a reminder that your PPC and SEO teams are joined at the hip. Starting now, if your website gets slapped with a spam penalty in Search, your paid campaigns are headed to the penalty box too. That’s right - ads pointing to flagged sites will be auto-disapproved faster than you can say “manual action.” For 2025, this means clean sites aren’t optional - they’re critical. Dust off that Search Console, resolve any spammy sins, and ensure your campaigns aren’t sabotaged by shady site practices. Google’s doubling down on trust, so get your house in order before your clicks disappear like last year’s resolutions.
Google's DOJ Remedies: Monopoly Makeover or Business as Usual?
Well, darlings, Google just dropped its proposed "fixes" in the DOJ antitrust saga, and it’s giving, “We don’t agree, but fine, here’s a compromise.” Think flexibility for browser defaults, unbundling Android apps like Google Play Store from Search and Chrome, and even a three-year pause on requiring Gemini preinstalls for U.S. users. For marketers, these shifts could mean big changes to search and app distribution landscapes in 2025. Whether this ends in disruption or a reshuffle, keeping tabs on Google’s next move could define your strategy for the year ahead. Stay sharp, loves—this case is heating up faster than your first latte back in the office.
LinkedIn’s Companies Hub: The B2B Glow-Up We Needed
B2B marketers, your 2025 just got a little smarter—LinkedIn’s new Companies Hub is here, and it’s serving insights on a silver platter. From planning with engagement data to targeting buyers based on how much they adore your brand (or need convincing), this tool lets you precision-tune your campaigns like a maestro. Bonus? You can finally measure post-campaign impact without feeling like you’re playing darts blindfolded. For brands looking to sharpen their LinkedIn game, the Companies Hub isn’t just a feature; it’s a strategy upgrade. Time to boss up your B2B moves, darlings—this hub is live and ready to flex.
And that’s the tea for the first week of 2025, loves! As you gear up to tackle your marketing goals, remember: staying nimble, informed, and ahead of the game starts right here. See you next week for more insights, strategies, and drama you can’t afford to miss. You know you love me.
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